AIDS Walk Wisconsin raises $500,000

About 3,500 walkers raised more than $500,000 at the 14th annual AIDS Walk Wisconsin on Sunday for groups that provide HIV education, health, and social services throughout the state. The money raised was about $20,000 less than what was brought in last year. Officials at the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, which sponsored and benefits from the event, say the economy, cold weather on Sunday, and complacency about AIDS led to the fall-off in donations. "Because people are living longer, people assume that there's a cure or a vaccine, and that is not the case," Kate Venne, a spokeswoman for the foundation, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We have a record number of people living with the disease, and it was up 16% in Wisconsin last year."